Chapter 1427: The Pursuit of Power
Though helping the children become stronger was important, Vahn invested an equal amount of time towards increasing his own strength. A time would come when he allowed the under his charge to move and act freely, but, until such peaceful times were upon them, he needed to take it upon himself to act as the vanguard against their enemies. This was one of his most important duties, and, while there were various operations going on without any involvement on his part, that didn't mean he could afford to become complacent.
With less than four hours left before the deadline he had decided for the Heroes, Vahn was doing his best to push his power and comprehension to greater heights. Fortunately, there were still a number of people within the Empire who, to an extent, were stronger than him. Though he would be able to defeat most of them, assuming he went all out, their base strength and capabilities far exceeded his own, often to a ridiculous extent.
Vahn's greatest strength, other than the fact he was the living manifestation of The Path, was that he rapidly improved in the middle of combat, and, to some extent, he had virtually limitless options for both attack and defense. Most entities, including Tier 5s, specialized in very specific abilities, so, with a concerted effort, it was possible to control, seal, or even kill them. Even Gaia, the planet itself, had been defeated by her own creations, entities that were, in some regards, infinitely weaker than her.
The Tier System was not an absolute representation of power, but, depending on the circumstances, it was more of a metric that denoted a person's potential. While there would certain times within a Records history where a Tier 5 could be without equal, they weren't guaranteed to be the strongest from the start. The various Protagonists within a Record were the perfect example of this, as, despite being relatively weak at the beginning of their respective plots, they could even rise above the Gods if their Fate allowed.
Vahn intended to learn more about Fate in the future, as he seemed to have a certain affinity for it, but, for the time being, his personal power took precedence. To this end, he found his gaze locked with a pair of wine-red eyes with uncharacteristically white pupils. This was none other than Altera, but, instead of wielding her devastatingly powerful [Photon Ray], the tri-colored sword of light that freely controlled the elements of water, fire, and wind, she was wielding a scarlet-red claymore that was covered in various runes.
Though Altera's [Photon Ray] wasn't enough to take him out of commission, it caused indiscriminate damage to her surroundings, and, at times like this, her allies. Thus, for the purpose of their training, Altera was given a replacement armament, while, circling behind him, Okita wielded her [Purgatory] as the two worked together to subdue him.
With the loss of his Shishou, Vahn had few suitable training partners, so, in an attempt to shatter his limits, while simultaneously teaching Altera to control his power, he ended up facing against the two pale-haired, dark-skinned, borderline emotionless women. They were the only ones who could easily emulate the ruthlessness of real enemies, and, while he couldn't go all-out against them, Vahn felt as if his combat prowess greatly increased during their exchanges...
Without any discernible hesitation in her eyes, Altera waved around the massive claymore in her hand as if it was lighter than a feather. Though there was no actual wind present within the field they were fighting in, her hair gracefully flowed in a way that never obstructed her movements. This gave her an ethereal quality, but, if you let yourself be distracted by her veil-like hair, it wouldn't even take seconds before you found yourself on the receiving end of her blade...
The moment Vahn believed Altera was about to charge him, he felt a small ripple within the void, not in the present, but within the various currents flowing around him. As a result, he was able to use his [Laevateinn] to deflect Okita's flanking blow. Then, before he could even motion for a counter, Altera had already reached him, her blade aiming for the center of his chest.
With his arm spontaneously erupting in a shower of golden light and scales, Vahn managed to grasp the blade with his bare hand. At the same time, he kicked out with his left foot, sinking it into Altera's lithe frame and causing her to bow backward before being launched like a cannonball into the thick stone pillars decorating the training field. Then, before Okita could bisect him with her sword, Vahn's body flickered for a brief moment, a golden pillar of light shooting out from his back as a large wing bat Okita away before instantaneously disappearing.
Though he still had a long way to go, Vahn had been working on seamlessly transitioning between his base and Huánglóng state. He had lost the ability to use his other forms ever since gaining this penultimate transformation, so, while it was taxing on his reserves, he was doing everything in his power to try and master it. Fortunately, it had the versatility of his other four forms combined, so, while it would take some time, Vahn knew it wouldn't be long before people began referring to him as the Golden Dragon Emperor in the future...
From within the rubble created by their respective crashes, both Altera and Okita appeared without any visible injuries on their bodies. Though Okita wasn't particularly tough, possessing only C-Rank Endurance, her affinity with Light and her connection to the Counter Force allowed her to mitigate and recover from most damage in a short period of time. As for Altera...she was a bit of a monster, in more ways than one, so, unless her body was completely annihilated, an impossible feat due to the indestructibility of her core, she would quickly revert to her natural state.
It was their ability to recover, combined with their S-Tier capabilities, that gave Vahn the confidence to train with Altera and Okita. The only others who could reasonably trade blows with him were Illya, Arcueid, and Artoria, but, for various reasons, Vahn tried to avoid seriously battling against them. He made an exception for Artoria, as she would often come to him for her own training, but, no matter how much he forced himself, striking Arcueid and Illya just made him feel uncomfortable...
Despite his apparent distraction, Vahn was able to flicker away from a massive wave of destructive energy, provided courtesy of Altera, without any discernible difficulty. Then, with two [Lævateinn]s in hand, he received the blows of both women as they appeared like phantoms at his flanks. His feet sunk into the ground, causing large spiderweb cracks to radiate outward, but, without showing any discomfort on his face, Vahn parried the two blows before stowing away his battle-hungry swords.
One of Vahn's major advantages against the two girls was that, in spite of their skill with the sword, they only had B-Rank Strength. His own had broken through quantifiable limits during his training, so, with EX-Rank Strength at his disposal, Vahn was able to deflect their blows in spite of the ocean of magical energy they forced into their blades. Though his body was still burdened by the chaotic energy swirling that attempted to tear him asunder, courtesy of Altera, this was nothing compared to the destructive capabilities of his own attacks, something his body could shoulder without much difficulty.
With his palms facing outward, Vahn sent a wave of energy crashing into the two girls, this time with enough force to send them flying several hundred meters in an instant. Then, before they could get too worked up, he shook his hands a few times to rid them of the numbness still present within as he said, "That's enough for today. Thank you both for your assistance..."
Almost immediately after Vahn's words fell, Altera and Okita appeared at his side, the latter looking a bit worse for wear, but, after a few seconds, only her clothes showed any signs of the damage she had accrued during their battle. Fortunately, Da Vinci had made considerable breakthroughs in her [REquip] system, so, combined with the fact his Memory Fragment further enchanted each of their outfits, it wouldn't take long for even Okita's appearance to return to normal. This was important for women like Okita, as, due to her nature, she had a tendency to care very little about the state of her clothes, especially in a battle.
Though he was largely immune to such things, Vahn still had to suppress a sigh when he saw Okita's left breast exposed, her expression showing complete disregard for things like shame and propriety. Several people had tried to teach her these things in the past, but, despite their efforts, Okita would generally follow their explanations by simply asking why it mattered. She didn't care if she was seen naked, and, since she was only ever exposed around people she had seen naked countless times, she didn't understand their discomfort.
In a last-ditch attempt to address Okita's lack of sensibilities, the girls ended up asking her rhetorical questions about how she would feel if men other than Vahn saw her nude figure. This hadn't ended well, however, as Okita took their words a little too seriously, to the point of even drawing her sword when Galahad greeted her in passing. If not for the fact she had been with Jeanne and Gareth at the time, things likely wouldn't have gone well for the unsuspecting Knight, despite the fact he hadn't actually done anything wrong...
Since it would take a few minutes for Okita's clothes to repair themselves, Vahn ultimately decided not to mind the matter. Instead, he extended his hands and began to stroke the heads of both girls, asking, "How is it, fighting without activating your Noble Phantasms? Do you feel as though you're making any progress...?"
As neither girl seemed to understand the concept of being roundabout or dishonest, both readily explained their feelings about the training, starting with Okita stating, "It makes me uncomfortable, pointing my blade at you. I try to ignore my apprehensions, but, at the moment when I'm going to strike, I feel hesitant..."
Despite the fact she didn't show any discernible hesitation during their sparring session, Vahn wasn't surprised by Okita's words. She was fiercely loyal, to the point of being directly comparable to girls like Fenrir, Jeanne, and Gray. From the moment he had summoned her, she had assigned him as the central aspect of her own existence, so, despite agreeing to become his training partner, Okita would always have some apprehension about actually harming him.
Having slowly come to accept the way Okita viewed him, Vahn could understand her difficulties, so, in order to allay her concerns, he transitioned his hand from the top of her head to her cheek, gently caressing her soft brown skin as he said, "You're one of the few I can rely on for this, Okita. I know it is difficult for you, but, in much the same way, I find it difficult to strike you. The thing that allows me to do so is the knowledge that, through our efforts, we will both become much stronger..."
Though she still lacked the ability to properly express herself, Okita leaned into his palm, her eyes closed with to reflect that she enjoyed his caress. Then, in response to his words, she muttered, "I will continue doing my best..." before opening her silvery eyes and staring up at him silently. This caused Vahn's heart to palpitate a few times, not solely due to Okita's beauty but the knowledge that, with a few words, the woman before him would do anything for him.
'Fortunately', Altera was in attendance, so, before Vahn could get swept away by the peculiar current, her monotone voice brought him to his senses as she plainly stated, "I do not like this sword. It feels like it will break every time I swing it around. Next time, I want to use one of Master's swords..."
Following her statement, Altera swung the scarlet-red claymore with a bit of force, hitting against the void as if it was a solid object. As a result, the blade fractured into tiny pieces, leaving only the handle and guard for her to hold up as if to say, 'You see?', with an accusatory glimmer in her eyes.
Vahn knew Altera had sneakily mixed her Destruction Laws into the blade as she smashed it into the void, but, as it was only during moments like this when she expressed herself. Thus, with his hand still resting on her head, Vahn lightly chuckled before saying, "You'll have to ask for their permission first. If they allow you to wield them, I don't have any problem lending one of my [Lævateinn]s to you. Before that, however, you have to prove to me that you are capable of holding back properly. I know you may not see the point, but, I'd like for you to be able to spar against someone other than Artoria and myself..."
As this wasn't the first time she had heard her Master repeat such words, Altera just replied with a curt, "I see..." before falling silent once again. She truly didn't understand her Master's desire to have her get along with others, but, seeing how he cared for his other weapons, Altera acknowledged that his intentions were sincere. It wasn't just him, either, as, from the moment she was summoned, many had been trying to teach her what it means to use her power in non-destructive ways, despite the fact she was still used to annihilate their enemies...
With this thought running through her mind, Altera tilted her head to the side, surprising Vahn by asking, "Is there a point to a weapon that cannot destroy...? Will there come a time when my power is no longer necessary...?"
Since Altera very rarely asked questions unless it was in response to an order she didn't understand, Vahn was momentarily taken aback. At the same time, however, he could feel the flow of fate around him increase in strength, almost like he would be swept up in the current. This made it seem like his next words would have a massive impact on the future, and, considering both the power and nature of the woman before him, this wasn't an exaggeration.
Without sending his energy into her body for an extended period of time, Vahn was unable to see the path Altera would take, but, as he could still see his impact on the future, he had the option of following the currents and looking for a future where she seemed happiest. This ended up being a mistake, however, as, after latching onto one particular stream, Vahn found himself staring up at a giant humanoid with bluish-white skin, impossibly large hands, and eyes that blazed like the sun...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn has become OP...','Okita is a good girl','The future is full of surprises, and, in Vahn's case...spoilers...!')
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